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Two Articles About A Major Breakthrough in Tinnitus Research:Article No. 1: Joint Study Provides Advances in WTAMU Tinnitus ResearchCANYON, Texas—A major development in tinnitus research last fall at West Texas A&M University has led to a joint study using magnetoencephalography with measurable results.

Dr. Leslie Dalton, visiting professor of communication disorders, recently found that a particular area of the brain can be programmed to suppress the debilitating effects of the phantom sounds of tinnitus, a condition marked by a ringing sound in the ears. He found he could make tinnitus go away by taking advantage of how the auditory system works normally while totally ignoring the phantom sound itself. His research prompted an invitation from the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit to participate in a joint study with Dr. Susan Bowyer, a medical neuroimaging physicist and senior staff investigator at the hospital. Her work demonstrated that tinnitus could be seen in scans using magnetoencephalography (MEG).“It was a match made in heaven,” Dalton said. “Since the cancellation paradigm is a neurological manipulation computer-based program, the MEG is a natural device for demonstrating what the process is doing. It has been especially exciting to actually see the tinnitus on the MEG scan rather than having to rely on what the patient reports as he/she hears or doesn’t hear a sound.”

Magnetoencephalography is used to map magnetic electrical current occurring naturally in the brain. The method was made possible by the invention of the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) by a Ford Motor Company engineer. Hundreds of SQUIDs are placed around a patient’s head to ‘read’ the brain activity and can be used in a before and after situation.

In the Dalton and Bowyer study, the patient’s MEG activity was measured without the cancellation process. The Dalton cancellation program was then delivered in the ears of the patient through specially designed miniature ear probes and a second MEG scan was taken.

“The results were beyond my wildest dreams” Dalton said. “One does not need to be an expert to see the effect of the neurological change.”

Before (A) and after (B) MEG scans show a clear picture of what is happening in the brain of a patient while the Dalton cancellation stimulus is delivered into the ears. The sounds going into the ears are so quiet that the patient cannot hear them, yet the brain still responds to them. At first the patient must wear a set of hearing aid like devices but as time goes by, the brain’s natural plasticity changes so that the tinnitus goes away for a period of time without the devices. In cases where the patient is wearing hearing aids, the tinnitus system can be retrofit onto the hearing aids.Dalton is excited about the use of the neurological process.

“Just think about the possibilities,” he said. “Stuttering, for example, is a neurological disambiguation problem. The loss of speech caused by stroke also may be helped by rerouting the signals of the brain to a portion not damaged by the stroke. Even autism and traumatic brain injury are neurologically-based problems that might be changed with the tinnitus method.”Dalton said future research is being planned by the communication disorders and psychology departments at WTAMU in conjunction with the University of New Mexico Biomedical Research and Integrative Neuroscience Center in Albuquerque.

Artical No. 2: Henry Ford Hospital Tinnitus Program
Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital leads one of the nation's most experienced Tinnitus Programs. A new neurostimulation procedure for patients with disabling tinnitus is offered and our physicians are the first in the world to perform this procedure.

Up to 50 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, a Latin term defined as "tinkling or ringing like a bell." However, the buzzing, clacking, roaring and whistling of this auditory condition can disrupt everyday activities, causing severe distress and depression.

Electrical stimulation of the brain has been used since the 1800s to treat tinnitus, albeit with mixed results. The Henry Ford approach of electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex aims to disrupt the "hearing" of tinnitus. The procedure works by electrically matching the pitch and tone of the tinnitus, effectively jamming the signal and masking the sound.

The procedure first requires brain mapping using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) with an electrode implanted into the auditory cortex. MEG is used to identify the location in the brain where the physiological event originates. This is done by imitating the frequency and pitch of the tinnitus sounds, then introducing them into the patient's ear so a tonotopic map of the auditory cortex can be generated to show the areas that should be excited by neurostimulation.

These areas, or markers, are recorded on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) so they can be registered on a computer. Finally, an electrode is neuronavigated into the predetermined place on the auditory cortex.

The electrodes are buried under the scalp, then guided behind the ear and over the fatty tissue of the clavicle so they can be placed on the pectoral muscle of the chest. The cables are connected to a generator that's programmed while the patient is in the operating room, allowing a signal to be sent that effectively renders the brain incapable of generating nuisance sounds. The final calibration is made about two weeks after surgery.

With continued research and fine-tuning of the procedure, electrical stimulation could become a viable and effective treatment for the treatment of disabling tinnitus. Research is important as there are other places on the auditory cortex where neurostimulation may relieve tinnitus, and research may show where stimulation of a specific area may work for some patients, a different area may require stimulation to work for other patients.

Early results at Henry Ford point to tremendous potential in the application of electrostimulation devices in the influence of tinnitus relief. No therapy promises a 100 percent favorable outcome, but in the end it's the improvement in the patient's quality of life that is the true measure of treatment success.

This is unbelievable stuff, although it is a bit difficult to understand. I am a GM Dealer but hats off to the Ford Guy on this one! Sounds like the basis of this treatment uses sound cancelling technology. Can't wait to hear more.

sure would be interesting to know how, and what frequencies are selected to "feed" back into the brain

with all the talk about using white sound frequencies for masking... matched tinnitus frequencies for residual inhibition... noticed music that straddles the hearing loss frequencies... and then the doctor at was it stanford u? who used the low, sub 100 cycle tones that some have found uyiet tinnitus.... and all the other tones that some say with vegus nerve stimulation will reduce T....

.gee .....i wonder if any of these treatments are targeting similar sound frequencies??

an just what frequencies are they using at the ford research hospital ?

This is joint research between West Texas A&M - not to be confused with East Texas A&M (if there is one.) - and Henry Ford Hospital. There is an M.D. at Ford Hospital (Sieble?) who is a tinnitus specialist, who is very influential with the ATA.

What is interesting is how these researchers can see the tinnitus brain image in the MEG. Basically their reaction is, "Wow, we can actually see what these guys are complaining about!".

At first I was gung-ho about this research. I was just about ready to fly down to Texas and take a couple of weeks off. But then I read the Henry Ford Hospital article about the truth of the matter: This procedure involves a lot of sensors and wires all over the head, embedded under the skin. After reading that, I cooled my jets and decided to take a pass for the time being. Let the next guy go under the scalpel.

However, I do believe we may be looking at a new tool - the MEG - which will enable doctors to actually measure the tinnitus objectively.

My hopes are someone will find a drug that will cure "T". I think we need to get at the root cause, in the ear.

I don't think all these tinnitus organizations are working together in synchronicity. Collectively, they could do it. I'm impressed with the bio-physics research being done by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The ATA seems to be doing a lot of hit-or-miss research, based on the usual medical research of collecting symptons. In my opinion, tinnitus will be figured out only by using a combination of engineered approaches and medicine.

What is interesting is how these researchers can see the tinnitus brain image in the MEG. Basically their reaction is, "Wow, we can actually see what these guys are complaining about!".

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I hate to say this, because I would never wish this on anyone, but what we really need is for one of these high level researchers to get a bad case of T. Maybe that would provide some motivation. Did I say that... That raises an interesting question. Do any tinnitus researchers actually have it? I know Sam Harris the Phd. neuroscientist/author/atheist//philosopher has it. But he never talks or writes about it.

i know the prevailing wisdom and yes it is wisdom, that the brains plasticity causes changes in response to cochlear damage an thus these researches view tinnitus as coming from the brain

but i think (guess) that if the inner and outer hearing cells were repaired, the stereo cilia regrown, that then that plastic brain of ours would re adjust and the tinnitus would be resolved...again this is a guess on my part

I've been thinking about the potential benefits of this MEG and MRI scanning. It's amazing when I think about it: For the first time ever, researchers are able to objectively see tinnitus!

Today the ramifications of this discovery finally hit me: MEG and MRI scanning can be used to test if drugs are effective in reducing tinnitus!

We may be able to get rid of the snake oil salesman! If somebody says their products eliminate tinnitus, then show us the MEG and MRI test. It it doesn't pass the MEG/MRI test, it's a scam. We can rid the world of scammer who take advantage of tinnitus sufferers, giving them false hope. There is finally a real test for tinnitus that we can all agree on.

I have personally experimented with a whole bunch of things. I am getting sick and tired these experiments, using myself as a guinea pig. At this website and others, we are the "blind leading the blind", aimlessly trying to help eachother, because the professionals have been unable to give us much to work with.

Researchers will be able to skip length and tedious testing programs involving of large pools of subjects, answering questionaires. With the MEG/MRI test, researchers will be able to prove in a short time if magnesium has any effect on reducing tinnitus. Any questions about the effectiveness of caroveine, Tinnex, laser treatment or this new gadget "Serenade" can be laid to rest by subjecting these things to the MEG/MRI test.

Better yet, using the MEG/MRI scan, researchers may be able to actually find medicines that definitely have an effect on reducing or eliminating tinnitus. The whole process should be sped up with these testing devices.

My hope is there will be cure for this thing. I am sick of having tinnitus. In my opinion, the MEG/MRI is a major discovery that should speed the process of finding a cure.

TitleResearch Studies of TinnitusMEEI Protocol Number09-03-021; 09-07-063ConditionTinnitus, hearing loss, or normal hearingSponsorNational Institutes of HealthTinnitus Research ConsortiumPrincipal InvestigatorJennifer R. Melcher, Ph.DStudy DesignA series of hearing, memory, and/or musicality tests.MRI scanning
MEG scanning (magnetoencephalography – measures brain waves)Study ObjectiveThese studies investigate how the brain works in people with tinnitus.Who is EligibleMen and women aged 30-65 who have normal hearing or who have a high-frequency hearing loss in both ears. We need participants who have tinnitus (“ringing in the ears”) and also participants who do not have tinnitus.Men 20-30 who have normal hearing, with or without tinnitus.Subject EnrollmentWe are enrolling subjects for several studies, who meet the study elegibility criteria.Study ProceduresHearing, memory, and musicality tests lasting up to 3 hours.MRI scanning session, lasting up to 2 hours.MEG scanning session, lasting up to 2 hoursFor More Informationhearing@meei.harvard.edu

I hate to say this, because I would never wish this on anyone, but what we really need is for one of these high level researchers to get a bad case of T. Maybe that would provide some motivation. Did I say that... That raises an interesting question. Do any tinnitus researchers actually have it? I know Sam Harris the Phd. neuroscientist/author/atheist//philosopher has it. But he never talks or writes about it.

This is great news,one of the scariest things about T is that no one can see it and maybe now people will stop saying,oh its all in your head.I can see this pushing research even harder now as this will be a critical tool in their arsenal.The power to physically see the problem is what has eluded researchers for so long and thats what was so concerning about this condition,if a patient has a broken leg it can be seen,if a patient has a severed arm it can be seen but with T it remained a mystery and invisible,until now.

The treatment explained in the first part by Dr.Dalton is Dichonics, by what it says it seems that the duration of tinnitus supression does indeed grow thanks to neural plasticity. If I understand it well, it means that the more one uses the treatment, the more time of supression one can achieve, isn't it? That's one of the things I have in mind to try.

qEEG different than EEG -or same? Do you know "what type" are often recognized through it? Thx

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qEEG different from EEG, don't ask me details not a doctor, but I think the qEEG uses more "contact" points to your skull. I was in Brai2n clinic in Belgium they did a qEEG there of me. He did tell me that people with T usually have weaker alpha waves, which I was also told during a test session for DBS. So they can definitely see something on EEG and qEEG. On MRI they can see whether something is interfering of interacting with your cochlear channel or ear nerve like a blood vessel crossing it or a tumor. Tumor change is very small especially if you have symmetric hearing loss.

JeffDamsko: Thanks for your helpful input, I do appreciate it. I read up on EEG vs qEEG the other day, which was a tad confusing esp. when it refers to "T". I did not think a MRI could pinpoint anything to do w/ "T"?
Did you have a specific kind of MRI of a certain mm? ...as there's so many variations.
Shocking is, I never had a MRI of my temporal ear bones in my lifetime- realized AFTER the fact when they implanted an invasive Cochlear Implant CI in my head, which ruined the rest of my hearing (& my life), exacerbating the "T" ten-fold. I have nothing to mask any part of it now, as I can't hear. I have overbearing excruciating, vibrating *whirring* T 24hrs day. The surgeon after two appts. told me to see a psychiatrist "for the deaf" instead of further work-up to what I should have had when I went in w/ complaints of increasing "T", head pressure and migraines after a head injury. He did a regular CT the day before surgery (not high resolution and relied on a past brain- 5 mm scan, as an overall diagnosis/workup, stating my only option was a 100k CI. At the time- after 3 yrs of ENTs, Neuro visits, I was desperate and this Otoneuro. advertised himself as a top "T" expertise in the county w/ an elaborate website. My only current resolution to this pain, was my family Dr (who knew me for years) prescribed alprazolam for now to "cope".
Trying to be positive in working in getting help to what I have NOW and had pre-op CI. I really miss hearing music and trivial sounds, chatting - even a dog burp.
One person suggested Trobalt which is "Potiga" in US - have you tried this yet?